Smoke-pot for naval use.



J. L. WATERBURY.'

SMOKE POT FOR NAVAL USE.

APPLICATION FI'LED MAY 12.4911.

1,259,059. I Patented Mar.12,1918.

Z SHEETS-SHEET l.

J. L. WATERBURY. SMOKE POT FOR NAVAL USE. APPLICATION mm MAY 12.1911.

& M u .M m P INVEWIQQR.

JAMES L. WATERB'URY, 0F SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOlIS.

'STMGKE-POT FOB, NAVAL USE.

Application filed May .12, 1917.

To all whvmc't may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES L. WATER- BURY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of .'Sanga men and State of Illinois, .have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Smoke-Pots for Naval Use; and I do hereby declare the following to be a dull, clear, and exact description of the invention,.such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it .appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in smoke pots, and it is intended to provide a device which can quickly generate and direct large volumes of smoke to he used as a :smoke screen :in marine warfare. The invention is more especially intended to he used in connection with marine warfare, and especially as 'a protection against submarines.

The ability of the submarine to hide is what makes it dangerous. It strikes in secret, does its work quickly and gets away suddenly. It is an instrument of ambush.

If the ship could hide :a's effectually as the submarine .and could strike from cover, the riddle of the undersea boat would be solved. Also, if there could be interposed between the ship .and the submarine .a barrier screening the exactlocation of the vessel, the submarine would be confused and its eiiectiveness lessened.

-'1.=he theory of the device to be described here is to .give. the ship on the surface of the seas the same protection of secrecy enjoyed by the submarine below the surface.

The hereinafter described invention is a smoke developing apparatus that can be swung from the deck oi the ship, attached to the tunnels of the ship below decks, carried by .a fast submarine chaser accompanying the vessel, or dropped in the sea and left to be a decoy to submarines.

The :device can be used both on the defensive and the ofliensive. As a (defensive weapon it screens the ship from the submarine. On .the .ofiensive .it can ,be used to hide the submarine chaser and serve as a decoy to bring the under-sea craft to the surface where they .can be attacked.

. The device briefly a .metal .pot in Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 12, 1918.

seam No. 168,318.

bottom of which is placed a quantity of tar products. Into the pot is inserted a 218.0- l'ene torch which forces a white hot ame onto the tar product, instantly converting it into smoke. The .smoke rises to the top and is directed outward and downward by the shape of the-cover.

The invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the smaller :t'orm of smoke pot:

Fig. 2 shows a central vertical section through Fig. 1:

Fig. 3 is a detail showing the smoke pot removed from the cover: 1

Fig. at shows a section through the cover:

Fig. 5 shows a section through a mod} fied form of smoke pot and cover;

Fig. 16 is a detail showing a part of the gasolene torch .used to create the combustion in the smoke yielding mass: and

Fig. 7 is a detail showing the air chamber surrounding the base of the torch.

1 represents the smoke pot, which is connected. by suitable metal straps l to the cover 2, the top of the pot being spaced from the cover, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. The gasolene torch comprises the oil chamber 3, provided with a downwardly projecting sleeve it-secured in the sleeve 5 19103 jecting downward from the center of the cover 2.

'6 represents a tapered shell secured to the sleeve '5, and projecting downward into the smoke chamber. Mounted in this she'll '6 is the feed tube "7 [connected to the burner 8.

Air passages 13 are provided in the sleeve 4; to permit the inflow of air into the shell '6, and the burner 8 is perforated to permit this air to be drawn in and mix with the oil, dropping down through the iced tube 7. The flame, flowing out of the bot tom of the burner and. igniting the smoke yielding material 14. This is preferably made of chemically prepared tar product but any suitable form of smudge may be used,'izf desired.

It will be noted that the burner 8 of the torch "has a head '8 which prevents the passage of smoke upward into the air chamber.

The oil tank 3 maybe fi'lled through the cap 12. For suspending the same at the desired position, the eyes 9 and the bail 10 may be provided, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In the form of device shown in Fig. 5, a larger smoke pot 1 is used and two of the burners are employed, and a deeper cover 2 is used.

, The formof device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is capable of being used either on board ship or afloat in the ocean, while the form of device shown in Fig. 5 is intended to be suspended along side of a ship or in any convenient position on the ship or boat, clear of the water. In either form of device, the smoke pot may be used in any desired numbers and strung along the side of the ship, or from the tip of the bowsprit, or boom projecting forward to the taffrail, or the boom projecting to the rear; and the smoke pots are preferably suspended as low as practicable so that the smoke arising beneath the cover will be deflected down toward the water and will remain substantially in a layer from the water to an adequate height above the same. 7

It will be noted that by the use of a torch of any desired size, and by a slow burning composition giving a large quantityof smoke, smoke of a low temperature and comparatively great density will be secured, and this smdke may be generated at or near the density of the surrounding air, so that the smoke will not tend to rise, or if it does rise, will rise very slowly; whereas, the smoke generated from the funnels of torpedo boat destroyers, or other marine craft, is generated from a fire at a high temperature, and is directed up through the smoke stacks and emerges at a considerable distance above the water. This smoke being highly heated will tend to rise; and this tendency to rise will also be supplemented by the blast upward through the smoke stack, whereas with the herein described device, the smoke will be generated at a low temperature, and will be deflected downward by the cover, and will remain in a stratum at or near the waters edge, thus screening the ship from which these smoke pots are suspended, or effectually screening the water on which they are distributed.

It will be noted that the flow of air into th appa'ratusherein described will be substantially'downward through the flame, and that the flame will flow outward at the base of the burner, While the smoke would rise clear at each side of the burner, thus not interfering with the operation of the burner in any way. -Moreover the smoke is generated from a substance, whose combustion is effected by that of a more highly inflammable substance, the combustion of the smoke yielding product being at a comparatively low temperature, whereby large volumes of smoke may be generated, and at a very low temperature. Moreover practically the entire substance of the smoke yielding compo sition is converted into smoke, and very little of it is consumed into flame.

The combustion is slow and steady and will continue as long as the supply of gasolene and smoke yielding composition is maintained. It can be regulated by the dimensions of the pot and of the gasolene tank, and the intensity of the flame forced on the tar.

While I have shown the apparatus as oper ating by gravity feed, it may obviously be operated by forced feed if desired, in which case the receptacle 3 may contain air under pressure above the gasolene.

It would be evident that the device can be very cheaply and quickly constructed, the parts being made of light metal, and moreover large numbers may be carried without taking up excessive room aboard ship.

The parts are arranged so that they may be quickly put together and so that the oil tanks may be quickly refilled when desired. Thus the air chamber is locked on to the cover as shown in the drawings.

After the smoke yielding product has been placed in the bottom of the pot, the cover is locked in place, the gasolene torch is then lighted, and when it has been sufliciently heated, it is dropped into place in the air chamber and the smudge begins to burn immediately. Thus only three simple operations are required in putting the contrivance in operation, and as soon as the parts are in place the device is then in operative form and can then be swung by a crane on the boat or into the sea as may be desired.

Having thus described my invention, what- I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patentof the United States is:

1. A smoke pot for use in marine warfare comprising a pot adapted to contain smoke yielding material, a cover secured to said pot but spaced away from the top thereof, a gasolene torch projecting down into said pot, and an air chamber surrounding said gasolene torch, substantially as described.

2. A smoke pot for use in marine warfare comprising a pot adapted to contain smoke yielding material, and a cover secured to said pot having its outer edges spaced clear of the upper sides of said pot andcurved downward and terminating below the open top of said pot, substantially as described.

3. Apparatus of the character described comprising a smoke pot adapted to carry in its bottom a smoke yielding composition, a bell-shaped cover inclosing said pot and spaced away from the top thereof, the

sides "of said bell projecting down beher surrounding each gasolene torch with low the top of said potand spaced away means for Supplying air to said air chamtherefrom to permit the passage of smoke ber, substantially as described. 10 upward above the top of said pot and In testimony whereof, I 'affix my signa- 5 then down beneath the sides of said bell, ture.

one or more gasolene torches projecting down into said pot, and. an an" cham JAMES L. WATERBURY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained [or five eents each, by addressing the Commissioner or 2mm,

' r Wishington, D. G. l r 

